I Got You
by WriteForYou
Summary: "It's weird." She sighs and looks at her best friend. "It's weird how even though so much time has passed, and so much crap has happened in my life, just one look and I feel like I'm young again. Falling in love with the same eyes all over again." Slightly AU.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Okay, so here is a new story idea. I know I should be working on my other one but my fingers wouldn't stop moving until I got this one down. So I thought I would share it with you guys! **

**Prologue**

The November sky was dark and gloomy as children of Belleville Middle School were scampering out of the school building when the final bell rang. A chubby redhead, with big black rimmed glasses, slowly walks toward a wooden bench under the tree and sits down. She pulls out 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone' and starts reading while swinging her legs. As the redhead turned to the next page, a shadow was casted over her.

The girl looks up hesitantly and stares with wide eyes at two tall eighth grader boys hovering over her. "Hey, Lucy Caboosey. What are you reading? Some stupid book?" One of the boys with freckles and spiked blonde hair snatches the book from her hands.

"H-hey!" Lucy stands up and tries to get her book back when the other eighth grader—a tanned Asian boy—pushes her roughly to the ground. Lucy cringes at the impact of the fall. Tears of frustration and feeling powerless to the bullies started to surface.

"What? Can't get back up?" The Asian boy sneered. "Maybe it's because you're so fat!" Both boys start laughing at Lucy while ripping the page of her Harry Potter book one by one.

"M-my book." Lucy cried.

"What? You want this back? Come and get it fatty!" The blonde taunts. Lucy, feeling utterly defeated, wrapped her arms around her knees and started to cry even more.

"Haha, what a cryba—" A pebble was suddenly thrown at the Asian boy's head. "Ow!" A girl with her hoodie on came marching towards the boys and threw more pellets of rocks at them.

The eighth graders drop the book and threw their arms up to deflect the pebbles of rock being thrown at them by a girl in ripped jeans and a black hoodie. They let out a chorus of "Ow" and a few expletives as they started running away.

"That's right! Keep running!" The girl with the hoodie yelled at the retreating forms of Lucy's attackers. "You mess with my best friend again and I will make sure to ends you!" The girl lets out one last glare in the direction of the bullies and then kneels down beside her best friend.

She pulled down her hoodie and let her raven-haired tresses to be carried with the light breeze. "Lucy, you okay?" The girl pulls the hand that was covering Lucy's face and wipes Lucy's tears with her free hand. "Those morons will never pester you again, I promise."

Lucy nods her head and jumps into the open arms of her best friend. "Thanks, Santana." Santana wraps her arms around Lucy in return with the same amount of affection (and possibly even more). Lucy then pulls away from Santana to look at the ruined book on the ground and it's torn pages fluttering away with the wind. "I'm sorry." Lucy whimpers.

"What for?" Santana raises her eyebrow.

"The book you let me borrowed…they ripped it." Santana turns her head around and saw the torn Harry Potter book and ripped pages.

"Don't worry about it. Did you at least get to finish it?" Lucy whispered 'no' and ducks her head away. "Well, it's okay. We can always watch the movie! Which I have!"

A light smile graced Lucy's face. "Yea?"

"Yea! I mean, the book is always superior to the movie but it's still good!" Santana held Lucy's hand and pulls them up. "We can watch it at my place tonight? Maybe a sleepover?" Santana still holds on to Lucy's hand as they started to walk home together.

Lucy gazed at their interlocked hands with a tiny smile before she responded back to Santana. "I think I can sleepover. Almost positive my mom will say yes since my dad is gone this weekend. Are your folks okay with it?"

Santana waves her hand. "Who cares. They're gone this weekend and left me alone with 300 bucks in case of emergency." Lucy stared at her with wide eyes.

"Really? Where did they go?"

"Some business trip conference thingy. I don't know and I don't care. It's not like this is the first time, you know that." They stop in front of a typical suburban house with a white picket fence. "So, see you tonight?" Santana tilts her head.

"Most definitely. If my mom says no, I will sneak out when she passes out on the couch with a bottle of wine in her hand." Santana laughs.

"Okay then. See you." Santana lightly squeezes Lucy's hand before letting go and jogging three houses down to her empty home.

"See you." Lucy smiles warmly and skips into her house.

* * *

"It was a good movie…but it wasn't scary."

Santana whips her head from the TV to stare at Lucy with incredulous eyes. "Did you want it to be scary?"

"A little, yes. But don't get me wrong it was a great movie!" Lucy exclaims while munching on popcorn.

"Of course it was! The whole premise of Harry Potter is amazing!" Santana swoons and plops herself on the couch. Lucy giggled at how her best friend was geeking out and threw a piece of kettle at her face.

"Hey!" In retaliation, Santana threw one of the pillows that she brought down and smacks Lucy with it.

Thus, the pillow fight began.

During this 'war'-as Santana declared-they were knocking over empty soda cans, spilling bags of junk food, and laughing the entire time they whacked each other onto the ground. It was minutes later, when Lucy and Santana finally slumped into the couch with flushed faces.

"I, so won." Santana breathed out. "You totally lost Lucy Fabray."

"Nuh uh. You lost Santana Marisol Lopez." Santana gasps at the sound of her full name.

"Not cool! You can't use my full name when I don't even know yours!" Santana pouted.

"It's a secret you'll never find out."

"Oh I intend on finding out. Even if I have to beat you at another pillow fight!"

"Please! You beat me? Look at you! You look like you just ran a marathon from the barely 5 minute pillow fight we just had!" Lucy laughs and Santana throws another pillow at her face before she too joined in laughing.

"Whatever." Santana attempted to feign hurt but the ear splitting smile said otherwise. "So what do you want to do now?"

"You have any horror movies?"

Santana waivers a little before answering. "…I think so. I think my cousin left some when he last came over. He didn't let me watch it." Santana got up to get the movies and as she pulls them out from the cabinet she whispers to herself, "And I didn't want to watch it because I knew I would shit myself." She bit her lips contemplating if she should just pretend that she couldn't find it or not.

_But Lucy really wants to watch it. _Santana mulls over what to do before finally closing the cabinet shut.

"It's for Lucy."

* * *

"No."

Lucy pokes Santana (who was hiding underneath the covers) and stifles a giggle. "Come on, San. It's over."

"No. I bet you anything there is going to be some sort of pop-up scene after the credits." Lucy shakes her head and smiles. She grabs the remote from the table and turns the power off on the DVD player and the TV.

"I turned it off. Now, will you please come out from under the covers?" Santana pokes her head out of the covers.

"It's off?" Lucy nods her head. Santana throws the blanket off and stretches her arms. "That wasn't so scary."

"Sure. Says the person who held onto my hand the entire movie and hid under the blanket." Lucy smirks.

"Hey! I was cold and I like holding your hand!" Santana huffs and takes a sip out of her Mountain Dew.

"Okay, whatever you say." Lucy mocks.

"Well, I'm tired. Wanna go to bed?" Santana stands up and holds out her hand to Lucy, who happily takes the gesture and nods.

Both girls changed into their pajamas and slipped into the comforter on Santana's bed. They were both facing each other as they talked about random things in the dark.

When the digital red numbers on the clock read '2:30 am' plus Lucy's constant yawning, it was obvious that it was time to sleep.

"Hey, Luce?" Santana snuggles closer to her best friend.

"Hm?" Lucy replies.

"Why do you let mean people pick on you?"

Lucy exhales slowly before answering. "I'm weaker than them."

Santana grabs Lucy's hand. "No you're not. You're like the strongest person I know."

Lucy raises her eyebrow. "What? How am I strong?"

"You're not afraid of scary movies, for one."

Lucy rolls her eyes. "That's because it's a movie. It's fictional and extremely predictable."

"I guess. But you also didn't cry or throw a fit when you had to get your tonsils removed in sixth grade."

"San, I was under anesthetics when they performed surgery, I couldn't feel a thing. Plus, I had to or else I could have lost my voice."

"True. I still think you're strong. You're also pretty—"

"I'm not—"

"Smart, funny, sweet, creative. Sometimes you tease me a lot, but I like that about you. You're strong. You think you aren't but you are. You just haven't found it in you to pull it out yet."

Lucy is silent. The acclamations from her best friend taking each breath that passes her lips away.

Santana moves her hand and cups Lucy's cheek. She brushes the lone tear that falls from hazel eyes. "You're beautiful, Luce. Inside and out. Anyone who tries to hurt you or tell you differently, I'll kill them." Santana says gravely.

"Thanks, S. For always protecting me. You'll always be my knight and shining armor."

"Hm? Not your prince?"

"Why would you be my prince? You're a girl, you dork." Lucy laughs.

Santana stiffens and the room goes silent for more than a minute.

"Santana? San? Did you fall asleep?"

"Yea." They both laugh in the dark. Santana moves into Lucy's arm and rests her head on her best friends shoulder. "I love you Lucy Fabray."

Lucy softly kisses Santana's forehead. "I love you too Santana Marisol Lopez. You'll always be my best friend."

Santana doesn't answer for a couple of seconds and Lucy thinks she's fallen asleep. But Santana mumbles 'Good night' before slowly slipping off into unconsciousness.

* * *

"Hey Lucy Caboosey!" A shrill voice was heard from a distance. Lucy turns around to see the mean girl and her clique moving towards her.

It was 6th period gym and the sun decided to grace its presence in the cloudless sky of November in Ohio. Therefore, nearly all the students were wearing their shorts instead of sweatpants because of the strange rise in temperature this season. Well, all except Lucy. Lucy always wears her sweatpants due to insecurities. Usually, no one teased her for it because there would be others who did the same. But today was different and she stuck out like a sore thumb—making her an even easier target to all her bullies. What made matters worse for Lucy? Santana didn't have the same class as her. No instead she was in a special class for "aspiring gymnastic athletes" according to what Santana calls it. But Lucy likes to see it as a class for girls who want to be cheerleaders in high school. Santana tries to convince Lucy to join with her but Lucy declined—knowing herself that she would end up embarrassing herself, leading to more ridicule than she already has.

Lucy tries to ignore them and quickens her pace around the track.

The leader of the clique yells at Lucy again. "Hey, ugly what's wrong with your nose? It looks so deformed! Ever thought of just wearing a mask in public to give everyone a better sight?" Lucy grits her teeth and clamps her eyes shut to keep the tears from spilling. _I can't show them any weakness. _She told herself. Lucy ignores them again and walks even faster. Unfortunately, the sound of heavy footsteps came jogging her way.

"Hey, fatty! You think you can get away from us? You're so fat and slow that a snail can beat you in a race." The mean girl of the clique spits and laughed at her. The rest of the girls laughed as well and threw in a couple of insults at her. But Lucy put on a brave face, ignores them, and kept walking away.

Thinking that the clique of mean girls decided to leave her alone after the failed desire reaction, Lucy smiled at herself. _Santana would be proud of me. _She thought of her Latina best friend. _I can't wait to tell her—_

"Move it, Caboosey!" The girls came running in her direction, all of them shoving her and elbowing her as they ran past. When the final girl came up running from behind, she pushed Lucy roughly onto the track.

"Gosh, make some room for others Caboosey." The girl grinned evilly as she ran away.

Lucy was on all fours on the track. She balled her fists tightly till her knuckles went white and the pained tears pooled from her eyes. She got up from the ground and ran to the restroom without even notifying the teacher.

Storming into the restroom, she checked that all the stalls were empty and then let herself cry to the fullest. Lucy stares at her reflection in the mirror.

"See, Santana?" She mumbles to herself brokenly. "I'm not strong at all." She glares at her own reflection in the mirror. "I have ugly unstylish red hair, a deformed nose, stupid glasses, horrible acne, and I'm fat." She cries harder and pounds her fist repeatedly on the sink.

"I'm not pretty or strong at all. I'm just a stupid ugly fat girl."

Lucy cried her heart out in the bathroom and jogged all the way home, skipping the rest of school; When she got home she crawled into her bed, ignoring her mom's questions, and cried her heart out even more until she fell asleep.

* * *

The sound of Lucy's bedroom door opened.

"Mom, I don't want to talk about it with you, okay?" Lucy buries her head under her covers.

Instead of hearing her mom's extremely plastic voice, she heard the sound of something much more pleasing to her ears. "What about me? Will you talk about it with me?"

Lucy sits up immediately and stares at Santana with surprised eyes. "What are you doing here? Don't you have practice today?"

"I do. But my favorite cheerleader wasn't there cheering me on." Santana walked in and closed the door softly behind her. She then sat on the bed beside Lucy, staring at the girl with sad eyes. "You weren't in last period either. I had to actually listen to the history lecture." Santana tries to joke.

"I'm sorry." Lucy bows her head down. Santana lifts Lucy's chin up with the tip of her finger so she could stare at hazel eyes that she's grown to love all these years.

"Don't be. You did nothing wrong. I was just teasing." Santana reassures her. "Can you tell me what happened today? Tell me why you're so sad and how can I fix it?"

Lucy gazes deeply into dark brown eyes that always makes her feel safe. "Can…can we not talk about it?" Lucy asks softly.

Santana brushes a strand of red hair behind her Lucy's ear. "Of course. But can you at least tell me what I can do to make you feel better?"

"Hold me. Please." Santana nods and proceeds to remove her shoes and slide under the covers with Lucy. She wraps her arms around the other girl securely and kisses her softly on her temple. All the pain of today was quickly dispelled as Lucy snuggled into the arms of her best friend.

* * *

Lucy was sitting down at an empty table in the cafeteria, eating a slice of pizza and potato chips by herself. Santana wasn't here today, for some odd reason. Usually Santana runs to her house at 7:15am so they could walk to school together, but she didn't show up. Lucy waited a while longer, but as the clock was getting closer to the time school started, her mother forced her out of the house and drove her to school.

As Lucy popped a potato chip in her mother, one of the girls from the clique that always bullied her hovers over.

"Hey, Caboosey! Shouldn't you save some pizza for the rest of the student body? Don't be such a pig!" The girl laughed shrilly.

"Yea, Lucy Caboosey! Why don't you slow down and stop inhaling your food!" Another girl came over.

Both girls started laughing loudly but stopped abruptly when a bucket of water was thrown at them. The two girls shrieked loudly and turned their heads to the left to see Santana gripping the bucket in her hands innocently.

"Oops. I was just trying to get rid of the disgusting filth in this cafeteria." Santana shrugs her shoulder.

"You bitch!" The girls yell.

"But actually, I think I got it." Santana smirked devilishly.

"You're going to take that back, bitch." One of the taller girls snarled and stepped forward. Santana glares at them and takes a step forward.

"You sure about that? How are you going to make me? You going to fight me?" Santana shoves the taller girl roughly into the other girl. "Do you really think you could fight me?" The deadly look on Santana's face stunned everyone in the cafeteria who were watching, even Lucy. The two girls stumble backwards. "If I were you, I would walk away and leave my best friend alone." The girls stood frozen in spot. "NOW." Santana growls. The two girls scamper away so fast that one of them even tripped into a trash can, making the entire cafeteria laugh.

Once the girls were away, Santana sits down across from Lucy and steals the bag of chips and munches on them. "Sorry for being late."

Slowly shaking her head (and recovering from what just happened) Lucy stares at Santana cautiously. She knew her best friend had a temper but was one who never publicly showed it. At least not to that extent. So Lucy concluded something must have been irritating Santana for her to display that much in public.

"It's fine. Where were you?"

"At home. Talking—no, _fighting_ with my parents." Santana says nonchalantly as if it was an everyday thing.

"Fighting? What's wrong?"

"Just something stupid." Santana reaches for Lucy's water but fails to retrieve it when Lucy pulls it away.

"Stop deflecting. Please tell me what's wrong."

"Nothing. I don't want to talk about it." Santana groans and averts her eyes from Lucy. This makes Lucy even more concerned.

"Why? You usually tell me. I just want to—"

"I just DON'T WANT TO TALK." Santana slams her hand on the table and throws her arms up in frustration. The entire cafeteria was inspecting the two best friends and were muttering to themselves. Lucy was taken aback by Santana's outburst and felt hurt by her friend's cold and harsh demeanor.

Santana recognized the flash of pain on Lucy's face and immediately regrets her actions. "Lucy, I'm sorr—" Lucy gathers her things and runs out of the cafeteria. "Lucy! Luce, wait!" Santana stood up and watched her best friend run away from her. The fact that it was Santana herself who caused that look, kills her. "Fuck." She growls at herself and kicks the cafeteria chair. Everyone in the cafeteria has their eyes on Santana and are talking in hushed tones. Still feeling a little irritated, Santana glares at everyone in the cafeteria. "What the hell are you looking at? Go back to scarfing your god damn food!" Santana seethes and runs out of the cafeteria in the direction where her best friend ran.

In one of the stalls of the restroom, Lucy was finishing her bag of cookies that her mom baked for her lunch. She was crying and eating so the cookies tasted a bit salty but she continued to eat it anyway.

"Stupid *hiccup* San." She rubs her eyes furiously. The restroom door creaks open and the sound of footsteps slowly walks in. Lucy clamps her mouth shut and swiftly picks up her feet off the ground—hoping to make her presence unnoticeable.

Unfortunately, the bag of cookies fell to the ground. Bursting Lucy's attempt at being stealthy.

"Hello? Luce, is that you?" Santana looks under the stall to see Lucy with red eyes sitting on top of the schools toilet.

"Go away." Lucy cries.

"Lucy, please let me in. Let me explain. I didn't mean to burst at you." Lucy remains silent and refused to move. Santana sighs and leans against the stall door. "Look, I'm sorry. I really am. I was just having a really bad day and everything was getting to me. I shouldn't have taken out on you." Santana apologizes.

"I never seen you so angry before San." Lucy says quietly.

"I know. I, just—ugh, my fight with my parents just got to me." Santana lightly bangs her forehead on the door. "I'm truly sorry. Please let me in Lucy." It goes completely silent and no one makes a move or sound. That is, until light footsteps and the sound of the restroom latch being open breaks it.

Lucy opens the stall door and looks at Santana with sad yet worried eyes. "You really scared me."

"I know, I'm sorry. I promise after school I'll explain. We'll go to the park by your house and I'll explain."

"Our park?" Lucy whispers.

"Yea, our park." Santana says softly. Lucy looks into Santana's pleading eyes and finally relents.

"Okay."

Santana smiles at Lucy's response. "You know, I could use one of Lucy Fabray's famous and most uplifting hug ever?" Santana wiggles her eyebrows and it causes Lucy to laugh. Lucy opens her arms for Santana, who eagerly jumps into.

"Feel better?" Lucy teases.

"Most definitely." Santana responds happily.

Lucy slowly pulls away and looks at Santana face to face. "Santana, I'm sorry too."

"What for?" Santana looks confused.

"I shouldn't have acted like a baby." Lucy admits.

"It was my fault. I shouldn't have let me temper get to me."

"I know but I shouldn't have reacted that way. So I'm—"

Santana cuts her off. "No more I'm sorry's. Let's just forget about it okay? I just want some more hugs before we have to go to class." Santana groans. Lucy laughs at her best friend and quickly pulls her back into a warm hug.

And like that, they're little fight was forgotten.

* * *

"Ready to go?" Santana holds out her hand for Lucy.

"Yup!" Lucy takes Santana's hand as they both walked out of school towards the park by their houses.

Autumn leaves were scattered on the park floor as Santana and Lucy stomped on them, making their way towards the swing set.

"What I'm going to tell you isn't easy." Santana sighs as they both sat down on the swing set.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I'd understand." Lucy reasons.

Santana shakes her head. "No. This is really important…because it doesn't just affect me, but you too."

"Me?" Lucy squeaks.

Santana nods seriously. "Yea. Both of us."

Looking slightly scared, Lucy gulped. "What's going on Santana?"

"Lucy, my parents are moving out of Belleville." Santana looks at Lucy gravely.

Lucy tilts her head. "Oh. So you'll have the house to yourself here then? That doesn't sound too bad. I mean we could have sleepovers more often and—"

"No, Lucy." Santana's grip on the swing set tightens. "I'm moving with them, Luce. I'm moving out of Belleville." The statement weighs on Lucy like a heavy anvil that nearly knocks her off the swing set.

"W-what?" Lucy's face goes pale.

Santana looks at the ground solemnly. "We're leaving on winter break. Some fucking Christmas present, huh?" She mutters bitterly.

"You can't move! We've been together since kindergarten! We're supposed to be best friends forever!" Lucy yells.

Lucy stands up and Santana follows. "You will always be my best friend, Luce!" Lucy is pacing back and forth with her hands on the side of her head.

"You're going to make all these new friends in your new town…" Lucy rambles.

"Lucy—"

"You will become popular and have everyone will adore you. You will probably become a cheerleader, the _head _cheerleader—"

"Eww. No. Lucy, will you stop and listen to—"

"And you won't remember me. I mean why would you?" Lucy stops her pacing and looks at the ground mirthlessly. "Why would you want anything to do with stupid ugly Lucy Caboosey?" Tears drop down her face silently as the feeling of abandonment and worthlessness increases in Lucy's mind once again.

Santana calmly walks over to Lucy and gently turns the crying girl to face her. Santana puts both of her hands on Lucy's face and stares deeply into hazel eyes. "You're not stupid or ugly Lucy. You're beautiful. I will never forget you. I couldn't even if I tried." Santana swipes her thumb and brushes the falling tears. "Do you know how much you mean to me?"

Lucy buries her head in the crook of Santana's neck with her arms tightly wounded around the taller girls waist. Santana holds her even tighter and continues talking. "You have such a big place in my heart and my life, Luce. I promise to keep in touch with you. I promise to call, text, email, and write, whatever. I will do whatever to keep contact with you—to keep you in my life."

Lucy closes her eyes, hoping that this was some cruel nightmare. "Everyone says that Santana." Lucy says quietly. "Don't make promises you can't keep." Lucy tries to pull out of the embrace but Santana pulls her roughly back in.

"Dammit!" Santana cries and tears spill from her eyes. "Can't you understand? I _need _you in my life Lucy. So please don't tell me I'm going to be like everyone. I promise you I won't! As long as you want me in your life I will be here!" Lucy is surprised by the outburst and Santana's crying. Lucy holds Santana in her arms, crying silently along with her.

"I…I love you Lucy." Santana cries brokenly.

"I love you too Santana." Lucy pulls away and wipes her eyes on the sleeves of her shirt. She looks into brown eyes and holds out her pinky. "Best friends forever, right?"

Santana's face falls and a light frown shows. "Lucy, that's not what I—" Santana says quietly but then she sees Lucy's red wet eyes and thought against of saying anything more. So instead, she musters her best smile and wraps her pinky around Lucy's. "Forever. You will always be my number one girl, Luce." They are both silently crying as the sun starts to slowly set in the autumn sky of Ohio.

* * *

The few weeks before winter break, Santana and Quinn were inseparable. At school, they never left each other's side—Santana stopped going to her practices and they both skipped gym just so they could lay under the oak tree at the park together. Every morning Santana would walk to Lucy's house and they would both walk to school together. Every night they would talk to each other for hours on the phone, talk about absolutely nothing which felt like everything. They would talk and talk until one of them yawns and says goodnight for the 100th time. With each day passing by, the numbers of when it was time to finally _say _goodbye was always on their mind.

And when the day finally came, they skipped school entirely and just sat under the oak tree at the park.

"How many more hours?" Lucy whispered. She was laying down with her head in Santana's lap and staring up at the girl wistfully.

"You should stop counting the hours, Luce. It's ruining the mood." Santana groans and thumps the back of her head on the tree.

"I'm sorry. It's just…everything feels like some horrible nightmare."

"I know. I wish time would freeze right now. Just me and you, here." Santana slowly closes her eyes to keep the tears that threatened to fall once again.

"Mmhm." Lucy responds. It's quiet for a while, as they both soak in the peace around them. "San?" Lucy breaks the silence.

"Yea?"

"What am I going to do without you?" Lucy sits up.

Santana opens her eyes and stares at the girl with soft eyes. Lucy furrows her eyebrows and stares at Santana. "You were always my knight in shining armor. Without you here, I'm doomed. Lost. Broken. Scared. Weak. And utterly hopeless."

Santana catches the lone tear that fell from her best friend's eye. "You have to be the strong person I know you are, Luce."

"Santana, I'm not strong. I can't..."

"You can." Santana looks at Lucy seriously. "I know you can stand up to those jerks who always pick on you. You just have to show them badass Lucy I know! The one that can watch the entire movie of The Exorcist without flinching!" Lucy laughs softly at Santana and falls back on to the grass.

"Maybe." Lucy sighs. "It's still going to be so lonely without you, San. It's like a whole part of me is going to be gone."

Santana lies next to Lucy on her sides. "I know. It's going to be hard not having you with me. I mean who am I going to go to when I need math help or analyzing a book?" Santana jokes lightly.

Lucy giggles. "It's so weird." Santana quirks an eyebrow. "We've been together for so long and it was always me and you. Me and you against the world." Lucy turns on her side and removes her glasses. "And now, it's like the world is trying to test us and push us a part." Lucy sighs.

"I'm going to miss having you a part of my life 24/7. I'll probably stare at my window expecting you to sneak in and realize that you're gone." Lucy's voice starts to shake.

Santana brushes a strand of red hair out of Lucy's face. "Luce, I have to tell you something." Santana says shakily as Lucy stares at her with questioning eyes.

"What is it?"

"I'm in l—" A ringing goes off, cutting off Santana. Santana sits up, Lucy following, and pulls out her cell phone and answers the call. "Hello? Yes, Dad. I know. Okay, I know. Dad, I got it!" Santana hangs up her phone and lets out a frustrated sigh.

"Everything alright?" Lucy places her hand gently on Santana's shoulder.

"Yes. No." Lucy raises her eyebrow at Santana. "It was just my Dad telling me that it's time to go." Lucy's hand falls off Santana's shoulder and the heaviness of reality finally sinks in.

"Oh." Lucy mutters.

"This fucking sucks. I hate this!" Santana jolts up with angry tears. "I just want to be with you." Santana cries softly.

Lucy wraps her arms around Santana and pulls her in close. "Me too. I'm going to miss you so much, Santana."

For a few more minutes, they stand there holding each other and crying. It wasn't until another call, from her mom this time, is when they start walking towards Lucy's house. When they finally reach Lucy's house, they stare at each other and tighten their grip on each other. In their minds, they both know what is supposed to be said next but are too afraid to say it.

"I don't think I can say it Lucy." Tears continue to fall.

"Me either." Lucy bites her lips and tries to calm her breathing. "I'm going to miss you so much. I love you, San."

Santana stares at Lucy with watery eyes. "I love you, so much, Lucy." Santana gives one last squeeze of their intertwined hands and then let's go. She starts walking away and Lucy watches her slowly go and it takes everything in her not to run and scream.

Lucy is surprised when Santana looks back and says, "We'll show the world, right Luce?" Lucy tilts her head not fully understanding the question. "That they can't push us a part. That it will always still be me and you against the world, right?" Those words hit Lucy like a ton of bricks as she starts to cry even harder. She nods her head to Santana and mouths 'Always'.

Santana gives one last watery smile at Lucy and then turns her gaze from the girl and starts running in the directions towards her house.

With each sound of Santana's footsteps getting farther and farther away, Lucy felt each beat of her heart painfully thudding. She slumps down her front door and cries. And cries. Until finally her mom finds her on the front step and pulls her inside the house gently.

* * *

When Santana got on the plane to San Francisco, California she sat at the window seat in first class, with her parents next to her. She stares out the window looking at the landscape forlornly. In her hand is a picture of her and Lucy. All that runs through her mind is when Lucy mouthed 'Always' to her.

"Always. You and me." She whispers and closes her eyes.

* * *

Santana always believed that she and Lucy could remain contact with each other. She believed in their _forever. _She believed that the world could suck it and that no matter what, she would still be inseparable with Lucy—always.

But life doesn't work like that, huh?


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hello there lovely readers! I'm touched by the amount of review and followers! I hope you guys stick with me and trust that I will get this story finished. Also, if you want you can follow me on tumblr: kyssmeplz. Here I will try to update previews of chapters before I update and other story ideas I will be writing. Sorry for the delay but here is chapter two: **

'_Where are you?'_

My phone buzzes and a text from my best friend pops up on the screen. I was currently at the end of the line at Starbucks waiting to get my coffee. I just need one venti double shot cappuccino to wake me up before I go to class and suffer 2 agonizing hours in my Renaissance Art class.

'_Starbucks.' _

I text her back. The line is, thankfully, moving quicker and I'm getting closer to the front of the line.

'_Hurry. Professor just walked in. With a bunch of papers…' _

I internally groan and rub my temple.

'_Just two more customers to go and I will get my fix.'_

I reply back and notice the line moving. _Yes. One more person to go… _

"Good Morning! What can I get you?" A cheerful redhead greets the man in front of me.

"I think…I will get a Caramel Latte." The man in front is tall and has a very perplexed expression as he squints his eyes at the menu.

"What size?" The cashier intentionally leans forward with a flirty smile.

"Uhh…what sizes are there?" _Oh my god. _I mentally slap my forehead and tap my foot impatiently.

"There's a tall, venti, and grande." The cashier smiles softly while twirling the ends of her hair.

He scratches the back of his head and purses his lips. I look at the time on my phone and throw my arms up. I only have 5 minutes before class officially starts.

"Uhh…" he says dumbfounded.

"The sizes are right there." I point at the display of the drink sizes that were right in front of him. "You see? That one is small, that one is medium, and that one is large." I say mockingly as if I were speaking to a child.

"Oh! Thanks!" He smiles at me brightly, clearly missing the fact that I was ridiculing him. He looks back at the cashier and grins. "I will have one grande vanilla latte!" He exclaims.

"So a vanilla latte then and not a caramel latte anymore?" The cashiers smile wanes a little.

The tall and clearly confused customer face falls. "Uhh…"

I drop my head and exhale loudly. "For the love of…just move will you! Some people actually have places to be." I groan and cross my arms.

"Ma'am, please calm down. You will be served momentarily." The girl peers over at me with a glare.

I roll my eyes. "Please, you're just being nice because you want to sleep with him." The customer raises his eyebrow and looks stupidly between us. "I actually have my order right now, so could you please step aside?"

"Sorry." He scratches his chin. "I just don't know what my friend likes…I keep forgetting. And if I get it wrong again this time she's going to kill me. Literally."

"Well, I'm sorry that you keep forgetting. But I have a class," I look at the time. "Right now. And I need my coffee or else I'm going to kill my professor for sounding completely monotonous." I push him aside and step up to the cashier.

I see her open about to rebuttal but I talk over her. "I need a venti double shot cappuccino. Stat." I shove my Starbucks card in her face and raise my eyebrow at her. "Now." She clamps her mouth shut and takes the card quickly placing my order.

"Name." She squeaks out.

"Quinn."

* * *

I stride quickly down the hall towards my class, despite there being only 30 minutes left. Opening the back door, I tiptoe my way down the aisle and slip into the seat next to my best friend.

Her head turns in my direction. "What took you so long?" She whispers.

I take a long sip of my coffee before I responded. "There was an idiot at Starbucks who didn't know his order and held the line up."

"And you couldn't just skip drinking coffee for one day?" She gives me a look.

"Tina, I wouldn't be able to function today if I didn't have coffee. You know that." I pull out my notebook from my bag and pen. "Now, what did I miss?"

The lights turn on and the Professor addresses the entire class. "We will end there today. Be ready for the exam next class. There will be two free response essays and 60 multiple choice questions based on the material we have covered so far. Most of it being heavily composed of what I emphasized today. See you next class." The Professor strokes his goatee and walks out of the classroom with his briefcase.

Tina must have noticed the look of shock on my face when she handed me her notebook. "Here, take my notes and copy them. We'll have a study session soon so don't freak out." I gratefully take her notebook and smile.

"You're the best."

We both grab our bags and exit the building, heading towards our next class in the dance studio.

"So who do you think Heather chose to teach the class on her maternity leave?" Tina ponders. "Do you think it will be someone famous? Someone who maybe toured with idols like Beyonce!" Tina swoons.

I chuckle at her dramatic antics. "I don't know, Tina. Whoever it is, I just hope they're as easygoing and fun as Heather." We walk into the locker rooms and start to strip down into sweats.

Once in our dance attire, we walk into the dance room and sit in the far corner of the room, far from the other students.

"Do you think it will be a guy instructor or a girl?" I tie my hair in a ponytail as Tina rambles on. "I hope it is a guy. A guy with beautiful abs and…"

The sound of hands clapping captures our attentions. "Hi, everyone!" A tall perky blonde skips into the room with a tall Asian man beside her.

Tina nudges me profusely. "Ohmygodheissohot." She sputters lowly.

The blonde has bright blue eyes that scans the entire room. Her eyes fall on mine and I grow uncomfortable under her lingering gaze. "I'm the temporary dance instructor Brittany! And this beautiful Asian man right here is Mike Chang! My partner!"

Tina drops her head low and sighs. "Damn."

Brittany hears the sighs of the many girls and a few guys in the room. "Oh! Not my romantic partner! Just my dance partner! I'm a lesbian!" Everyone smiles and laughs when they hear Tina's not so silent delighted squeal.

"Okay, okay. Stop oozing over our hotness. Get to your stretches." Brittany tells us as she centers herself in the middle of the dance room, stretching her legs as well.

The rest of the class consisted of intense Zumba. I think I burned more calories from doing this dance compared to when I go on my morning runs. I stepped out of the locker room and waited for Tina to get dressed. I see the dance students flocking Brittany, throwing question after question at her.

Brittany has been dancing since she was eight and been in several performances. She was even a background dancer for several top 40 music videos and apparently even toured with Beyonce. My eyes couldn't leave the blonde for some reason, something about her was so familiar. Those blue eyes reminded me of something from my distant past.

My fixation with the blue eyes are interrupted by a strong clear feminine voice. "Britt, let's go. I'm starving!" I am unable to find the face that the voice belonged to but I'm assuming it was Brittany's girlfriend due to her excited squeal.

"Santana!" My body goes stiff and the blood in my veins turn icy cold. _It can't be. _My eyes zoom through the heads of the doting students to see the back of a woman's head. I see her silky raven locks that fall down her back.

"Ready to go, B?" The inflection in her voice and the slight rasp spark my ears. I numbly move forward and push the other crowd of students aside trying to get closer to Brittany and…

_Shit._

I end up bumping into a classmate in this nearly catatonic state of mine. We end up crashing onto the ground and his high-pitch shriek nearly deafens me for a minute. I mutter out a robotic apology and scramble off the poor boy who gets up and leaves, not without giving me a dirty look first though.

I'm still on my hands and knees as my eyes burn through the back of her head. I look at the raven-haired figure and bit my lip. _Turn around. Turn around. Turn around. _I beg inside my head. I watch her lift her fingertips and pull a strand of hair behind her ear. Her shoulders move and the heels of her foot begin to slowly twist around and—

"Hey Quinn!" A tall blonde man stands in front of me blocking my view. "Are you okay?"

I instantly swat his hand away and stretch my neck out to see if it was _her. _But all I see is the back of her head once again, along with a blonde one, intertwining their pinkies as they strolled out of the classroom.

"Uh, Quinn? You okay? Need help?" I stand up and brush my knees. I then punched the blonde in the arm really hard.

"Jeez, that hurt Quinn!" The blonde wailed.

I punched him in the arm again. "Dammit, Sam!" I growled and stomped away suddenly feeling irrationally angry.

"What did I do?" He yelled confused.

* * *

"Shhh." Her soft index fingers pushes against my lips. "There's nothing to be scared of, I'm here." She brushes her lips to my forehead and I shiver slightly.

"Can you hold me closer?" I stutter out meekly. She smiles softly and pulls me next to her.

"Better?" She asks. I nod my head against her chest.

We were both sitting beneath the Oak tree in our favorite park looking up at the stars. We were holding each other as close as possible like we always do. Like we used to.

"I missed you." I let a tear stroll down my cheeks. "You stopped calling." I cry into her chest and grip the fabric of her shirt.

Santana softly pulls away and looks me in the eye with a pained expression. "You stopped answering." She says brokenly.

My eyes flutter open and I touch the wet tears gliding down my cheeks. I prop myself up on my elbows and exhale a shaky breath.

"That's the third time this month." I haven't thought about Santana in years and now she's all I think about. Ever since that day in dance, all my thoughts have been fixated on the past and Santana.

I came to a conclusion though, that this wasn't my Santana. During dance, I would ask Brittany inconspicuous questions about the girl who appeared that day. Brittany told me that she and Santana met at cheer camp. That was the first thing that dissuade me from thinking it was the Santana from my younger days. Santana hated cheerleaders and hated the idea of ever becoming one. Then Brittany told me about a time that she watched a horror movie with her in the theater and how Santana hogged all the popcorn. Another answer that definitely ensured me this wasn't the same person. Santana hates horror movies. Even when I begged her, she wouldn't watch a horror movie with me in the theatre.

But then Brittany said something that really got me stumped.

"_Santana can be mean sometimes. Like in high school, she used to say lots of mean things. But she's just really honest and she was going through a lot."_

_Brittany and I are stretching our legs in the back of the room, 15 minutes before class officially starts. After hearing that I think, 'Not my Santana. Santana is the sweetest girl I know.'_

_Brittany continues on with her story. "Even if she did things that made her look like a bad person, she isn't. She always comes through for you in the end." Her blue eyes soften and a sweet smile forms as she seems to be remembering something. "When Santana loves you, she will protect you. Fight for you. Hold you. She will love you with every single ounce of love she has." She releases a heartfelt chuckle. "And she will do anything to make you smile and feel safe."_

_I stop in the middle of my stretches and let everything Brittany said sink in. My head is buzzing and my chest feels tight. I knew they weren't the same person…it just didn't make sense. But after that…_

And that's how it all started. I kept going to class early to talk to Brittany, learn about her life and squeeze a little more insight on this other Santana. The more I learned the more I thought of the Santana Lopez in my adolescent years. The more I daydreamed of reuniting. The more I thought about contacting her. The more I dreamt of her.

I turn to my drawer and shuffled through the contents. I pushed aside letters, books, and high school pictures to find a worn out picture from sixth grade.

It was a picture of Santana and I on the swings at our park. We were both smiling at the camera and my hand was wrapped around Santana's free hand. I still remember the warmth of her touch and the security it always gave me. God, I miss it. If I could go back I would.

But I can't. There's no point in dealing with the past and the people I lost. Because the sad truth is that we will lose people along the way whether we like it or not. I lost Santana and will never see her again. I just have to accept that. _I have to stop thinking about you. Brittany's Santana isn't you. Santana is a common name. You're probably somewhere in California, probably in Los Angeles making your way to stardom._ Running my finger along the contour of her face,I let myself dwell on the sweet and tender moments of our friendship one last time.

After a few minutes, I fold the picture of us in half and shove it all the way to the corner of the drawer. Just like I push every thought and memory of her and who I used to be in the back of my mind.

* * *

"Finally, the weekend." My friend Blaine walks up to me after I exit my advanced photography class. "Want to hit the club tonight?"

"I don't know…"

"Oh come on, Quinn. You've been hiding in your apartment for almost a month now. When was the last time you had fun and let loose?" He steps in front of me and crosses his arms.

"Uh…"

"Since our second-year of college." Tina enters the conversation with Sam beside her. I throw a glare at her in which she innocently shrugs her shoulders in response.

Sam clears his throat. "You never go to clubs or parties with us anymore. It's not nearly as fun without you."

"You've been too worked up with college work…" Tina starts.

"You know I have to support myself now and with everything I can't afford—" I sigh.

"I know…" Tina interjects and looks at me softly. "…but one night out with friends at the club won't do any harm."

"Exactly." Blaine throws his arm around me and grins. "Tonight we're getting all our friends together and going to the club."

"You guys," I shake my head. "I have too much on my plate right now. I have work tomorrow and I have to get to bed early. I also have a group project to worry about and I still have…"

"No. No. No." He shushes me. "Tonight, we're having fun."

I was about to rebuttal when all three of them gave me a stern look that sent a cold chill down my spine. "Fiineee." I relent.

They all holler in glee and pull me in a bone-crushing group hug. I love spending time with these guys. They're my closest friends…no they're my family. But still, _I'm going to regret this somehow…_

* * *

I'm regretting it.

So far, three guys have flirted with me using the most cliché and nauseating pick-up lines that I have ever heard. I had to put on my HBIC mode from high school in order to get rid of them.

Then a girl in her drunken stupor, spilled her margarita on my black dress. On my way to the restroom to clean myself up, a man elbowed me in the stomach, a women's bracelet got stuck in my hair, and I broke a heel. Needless to say, I'm not having fun at all.

Finally pushing through the sweaty bodies, I swing the women's restroom door with more force than needed. Walking into the restroom, a strong scent of marijuana and smoke entered my lungs sending me into a coughing fit.

"Shit. Are you okay?" A voice rasps out from the corner. _No way…_I lift open my eyes to see an indecipherable face due to the hazy smoke.

When the smoke clears, I see her features clearly under the dim lights of the restroom. I inhale sharply at how beautiful she is. Still is. Her hair is tied in a ponytail and she's wearing a white blouse, with rolled up sleeves, along with a tight miniskirt that compliments her figure. "S-sa—" I start coughing again from the unwelcomed smoke into my lungs.

I hear her curse and from the corner of my eyes I see her put the blunt out. The clicks of her heels approach me and the touch of her hand on my back has me freeze. She pats my back awkwardly and I just stand there, hunched over with my arms clutched to my stomach, looking at the unsanitary tiles of the restroom.

"Uh, hey are you still breathing?" Santana asks curiously. I bite my lip and silently sigh at the pleasant sound of her voice.

_It's her. God, I can't believe it's her. _I have a mini-panic attack inside my head as I contemplate on what I should say. _'Hey Santana, it's me Lucy. You know, Lucy Fabray…Lucy Caboosey._' And then something occurs to me...

"Um, hello?" Her voice laced with concern and a smidge of annoyance.

_Do I even want her to remember me?_

Still hunched over, I turn my head to meet her gaze. A flood of memories and emotions that I had thought I stored away, crash into me violently. Nearly knocking the air out of me once again.

Santana knits her eyebrows and inches closer.

"Do I know you?"


End file.
